Data processing systems typically require storage of large amounts of data, which data is continually being updated, added to, deleted or changed. In major data processing systems, this data is stored by storage management servers in multiple locations, each often remote from each other. The ongoing data processing requires large amounts of data, and such data is typically periodically backed up to prevent loss of the data, by the storage management server. Many businesses view any loss of data as catastrophic, severely impacting the success of the business. To further protect the data of a business, the backed up data is often moved offsite and kept at a site remote from the site of the data processing system and the associated storage management server. Thus, if a disaster strikes the site of the data processing system and the associated storage management server, the data can be recovered from the backup copies located at the remote site.
In a typical major data processing system, a number of "client" data processors are coupled to a single storage management server over a network, and the server receives data files from the clients and stores them on several attached storage devices. The storage management server manages the backup, archiving, and migration of the client files. Clients can vary from small personal computer systems and workstations to large data processing host systems.
In a typical busy data processing system, the data for one or more, or all of the clients, is backed up periodically, and moved to an offsite location, often employing a server-to-server infrastructure to communicate the data to a remote storage management server. Thus, the communicated backup data from one period immediately outmodes that of the previous period, and the server which sent the data needs to have information indicating what was sent at the last communication in order to properly restore the data. Further, the server needs to have information about the clients, the network and about the server itself, in order to be able to carry out the restoration.
In the event of a site disaster, or of loss of the server, the server itself must be restored. Therefore, servers may have a server disaster recovery plan which includes the information, procedures, and executable instructions necessary to recover the storage management server. Currently, the server recovery plan file is manually managed, and copies made on a removable data storage media, such as tape, and for filing or storing, often in a warehouse or other site that is remote from the server site. The previous recovery plan files should be manually deleted, however, they often are part of a load of tapes that are delivered without a certain procedure for expiration and deletion of old tapes. Further, the recovery plan file should be periodically updated so that it tracks, not only changes to the server, but also the changes to the backed up data.